Okay, y’all…this review/recap is late as all hell, but it’s finally here.  Let’s do the damn thing.

The first thing we see during the titles is some kids in a park circa the 1950’s or ‘60s, playing cowboys and Indians.  A Native American man sitting on a bench reading a newspaper watches them for a few seconds, completely disgusted.

The show goes back to 1770 where Claire and Jamie—that’s right, Claire and Jamie, along with Young Ian—finally reach the doggone Mohawk camp.  And it only took damn near seven months.  Thank God for modern transportation.  Anyway, when they enter the village, the Fraser/Murray family makes it known that they come in peace.  Ian tries to converse with them, and he spots the hot guy he sold Roger to.  Hot Mohawk Guy speaks English, so Ian approaches him and asks if they can possibly get Roger back.  Hot Mohawk Guy takes them to his chief, who also speaks English and is more than willing to trade with Claire and Jamie.  At first everything’s going smoothly, but the tribesmen spot the stone around Claire’s neck.  Remember that stone Claire found near that human skull early on in the season?  Turns out that stone really means something, and the chief tells them they have to leave.  Claire offers the stone in exchange for Roger, but no soap.  The chief refuses, saying they will not trade with the family.

The Fraser/Murray clan leaves and makes camp nearby, trying to figure out a way to get Roger back.  While they’re settling down for the night, they’re ambushed by a few rogue Mohawk tribesmen.  The woman leading the attack demands the stone.  Claire offers to trade the stone for Roger.  The woman refuses without a fight.  Claire asks why the stone is so important to her and her people, and the woman sits down with the family and explains.

Long ago, there was a Mohawk named Otter Tooth that arrived from the future.  He preached to the tribe that the Native American people will be near extinct and white people must die, before they kill the tribesmen.  He would paint himself and dance war dances in front of a fire.  Some people in the tribe followed his word and would scalp white people, bringing the scalps back to the village.  The Mohawk became frightened, believing that Otter Tooth would cause soldiers to come to the village looking for vengeance, eventually bringing about the destruction of the tribe.  The chief at the time banished Otter Tooth, but he kept returning, preaching to the tribe not to trust white folks.  However, the Mohawk kept turning him away (sounds like almost the same story with the bear guy in the Cherokee tribe).  After realizing that Otter Tooth refused to leave them alone, the Mohawk sentenced him to death.  Otter Tooth escaped, but the tribe found him and executed him, cutting off his head, so they could no longer hear his warnings about Native American people being forgotten.  After executing Otter Tooth, The Mohawk buried his head far away from the camp…but his warnings about how the Native Americans’ bleak future stayed in their minds.

If you know the true story of the man in this GIF, you know there’s all kinds of irony here. 

The woman says that whoever has the stone is followed by Otter Tooth’s ghost, and that person has seen the true fate of the Native American people.  Claire admits that Otter Tooth’s spirit visited her before, and she promises to give the others the stone if they help them break Roger out of the camp.  About an hour or so later, while the tribesmen are having some type of celebration, the woman sneaks the Frasers in the village.  Sure enough, just as Brianna predicted, Roger recoils the second he sees Jamie, but Claire calms him down, letting him know that Jamie is her husband, and they’re trying to get him back to Brianna.

Once they leave the hut, one of the guards sees them heading out.  The woman pleads with the guard to let them leave, but he fires his rifle instead, alerting the others.  Jamie fights the good fight, but they’re outnumbered and eventually get caught.  The woman is banished from the tribe for her disloyalty, and the Frasers are forced to leave.  Claire begs to have Roger come with them, but the chief refuses, saying there was no fair trade.  Jamie tells Ian to ask the chief to have him offered instead.   Ian goes to speak with the chief, and when they’re done, Ian tells Jamie to take Roger and go.  He’s staying.  Jamie is confused, and Ian explain that he offered himself, not his uncle.  Ian makes Jamie swear not to return to get him and to leave him there.  Claire and Jamie can’t bear leaving him, but they have to.  They say goodbye, and Ian apologizes to Roger for what he did.  With that, the Fraser clan tearfully leaves Ian at the camp.  *Sob*

After the family leaves, it’s announced that Ian must run The Gauntlet.  Ah, shit.  The Soul Train Line from Hell.

Ian starts running “The Gauntlet,” but unlike a 20^th century historian that’s probably never really fought a day in his life, Ian knows how to fight off and dodge the tribesmen whuppin’ his butt, and he makes it to the other side of The Soul Train Line.  The Mohawk happily adopt Ian as one of their own, and he’s overjoyed.

Brianna is back at River Run, speaking with Murtagh, who’s hiding out at the plantation for the time being.  First he asks about Brianna’s engagement to Lord John (Murtagh and Jocasta had a little spat about that the day before), but Brianna assures him that it’s just a ruse that will continue until Roger returns.  Murtagh then asks what in the heck she was doing at that jailhouse visiting Bonnet, and she tells him about how she decided to forgive Bonnet’s evil behind for what he did, like Jamie advised in his letter.  She even says that forgiving Bonnet gave her some peace of mind.  Murtagh asks Brianna if she will ever forgive her father, and she tells him that she already has.  Before y’all give this heffa a standing ovation, keep reading.

Murtagh and Jocasta have a nightcap later, and they strike up a conversation about The Regulators.  Murtagh tells Jocasta that with her influence in the community, she could do a lot to help people from being screwed over with high taxes.  This leads to another heated argument where Jocasta accuses Murtagh of always wanting something, and admitting the “fact” that she never liked him.  The argument ends with Jocasta throwing her drink in Murtagh’s face, and he appears to have a look on his face as if he has to restrain himself from laying hands on her.  The scene cuts to the next day, and we see a glowing Jocasta staring serenely out of the window, with her hair down and a smile on her face.  A familiar voice says, “Come back to bed,” and we see Murtagh in the bed, with his silver locks hanging down around his shoulders.  Who didn’t see this coming?

Back at Nowhere, USA, Claire asks Jamie how Ian, Sr. and Jenny will take the news of their youngest son being a permanent member of the Mohawk.  While Jamie is explaining that Ian has a wild and adventurous spirit, Roger lashes out and starts beating Jamie up!  Claire tries to stop Roger from landing blows on her man, but Jamie insists that he get his anger and frustration out.  Besides, he kind of deserves it…kind of.  On one hand, Jamie did whup Roger’s ass.  On the other hand, Jamie went through hell to get him back and had to sacrifice his nephew in the process.   Roger wails on Jamie for about a minute and some change before he finally gets tired.  Yeah, he’s real tough when the other person’s not fighting back.  When Roger finally stops and tries to talk to Jamie, the latter explains that he didn’t even know who Roger was and whupped his behind due to a case of mistaken identity.

Roger asks why Jamie would beat the living snot out of him if he didn’t know who he was, and Claire tells him about Brianna’s assault and how Jamie mistook him for the rapist, who in fact was none other than Stephen Bonnet.  Of course, Roger is horrified, given that he worked for Bonnet for sometime, and he admits that he left Brianna the night they were handfast.   Jamie demands to know where Roger was when Brianna was assaulted.  Roger sees fit to lay hands on Jamie again, and Jamie warns him that that’ll be the last unanswered blow.  Roger, knowing personally how Jamie’s fistful of responses feel, backs his happy ass up and tells the Frasers about how Bonnet forced him to go to Philadelphia, which is why it took him so long to get back to Brianna.  He also mentions how he found a Craigh Na Dun stone there in the states, and how he was planning on taking Brianna back to their time.  Claire informs Roger of Brianna’s pregnancy, and that she’s stuck like Chuck for the time being; it’s not clear if a baby can pass through the stones.  Claire also lets Roger know that the baby may possibly be Bonnet’s and not his.  Roger says he needs time to think, and Jamie is about to get in his ass for that too, but Claire stops him.  She reminds Jamie that if Roger needs time, he should take it, because this is their spoiled rotten daughter they’re talking about.

Back at River Run, Brianna gives birth to a healthy baby boy, before Claire and Jamie have a chance to get back in town.   When the Frasers arrive at River Run two months or so later, Brianna looks for Roger, but he’s nowhere to be found.  Oh yeah, and you know how Brianna claimed she forgave Jamie?  Yeah, she doesn’t say two words to him when he returns.  She doesn’t say two words to him for the rest of the show, actually.  Oh, and she doesn’t even ask or care what happened to Ian.  Man, this chick irks me.

Sometime later, Claire is thanking Jocasta for taking such good care of Brianna while they were gone, and she allows Jocasta to hold the baby, extending an olive branch.  Now, a lot of folks had issues with this scene, and I can understand why.  Claire held the baby, and so did Jocasta, but Jamie couldn’t hold his own grandson.  Jamie never got to hold Faith or Brianna; if he did hold Willie, it may have only been for a short period of time, considering that he had to pose as the child’s personal butler and not freely admit that he was his father.  Now Jamie can’t hold his doggone grandchild.  Anyone else get the feeling that Jamie’s being treated like trash this season?  The only crappy treatment Jamie received that was slightly understandable was the one-sided ass whuppin’ Roger gave him, and even that went on longer than it should have.

Brianna is clearly upset over Roger, but she pulls herself together enough to go on with life, and yadda-yadda-yadda.  However, her depression is short lived, because guess who rides up a few days later?  That’s right, Roger.  Yay.  After they embrace, declare their love for each other and all that good stuff, Roger tells Brianna that he wants to see his son.  I liked that part.

Suddenly, Red Coats ride up to the house, and that’s never a good thing.  Brianna automatically assumes they’re there for Murtagh, as does everyone else.  Jocasta has her right hand house slave hide Murtagh in the slave quarters, because why would a self-respecting white man be in there?  Also, I couldn’t help but notice that Jocasta went all out of her way to hide Murtagh, but when poor Rufus was being hunted with pitchforks and torches, she couldn’t wait to serve his rump up.  I get that Murtagh’s her man now, but damn.  Anyway, the Red Coats enter the house, and it turns out they’re there for Jamie.  Thankfully, they’re not there to arrest him or anything like that; they just had to deliver a message from Gov. Tryon.  What, the Pony Express hasn’t started yet?  It took all that?  Jamie reads the message, and reveals that he’s been ordered to lead an investigation into The Regulators.  His first task is to bring the fugitive Murtagh Fitzgibbons into custody so he can die by the hangman’s noose.  Dun-dun-dun!!!!!

Okay, y’all.  This episode was really good.  I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and the hour flew by so fast, that when the show cut to black I actually yelled, “That’s the end!?”  I really liked that Claire and Jamie finally had some screen time on their own doggone show for the first time in about two or three episodes, but I hated that Ian had to separate himself from his family to get Roger back to Brianna.  Then that brat Brianna didn’t even ask about Ian!  Oooh, she works my nerve!  Also, Brianna claims she forgives her father for what he did, but when he’s actually in front of her, she doesn’t say hi to him, doesn’t hug him, she doesn’t even ask him about the weather.  Plus, she didn’t let him hold his grandbaby.  WTH?

Uh…your daddy can’t read your mind, boo!  Open your spoiled rotten mouth and talk to him!   As for Jocasta and Murtagh, they make a cute couple, so I was amused to see them hook up.  Maybe now she’ll lighten up a little.  I could hope for her to have a bit more enlightenment when it comes to the enslavement of black people, but that’ll be like asking Donald Trump to give up the border wall.

Now onto my review of this season as a whole.  Let me start by saying that Outlander hasn’t been the same since season one.  The first season grabbed me from jump street and didn’t let go.  The only episode that kind of dragged was “The Search,” where Claire sang an old Scottish folk song to the tune of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” over…and over…and over again (for those of y’all that don’t know, that’s why Murtagh whistled the song to Claire when they were reunited).  To be honest, “The Search” was still interesting, despite the song grating my nerves after the first three times hearing it.  However, the series has been a bit lacking since then.  I still enjoy it, but it’s not as good as it once was.  The problem with season four—as with seasons two and three—is that it starts off slow then picks up halfway through.  A few weeks ago, Sam Heughan posted a clip from The Simpsons on his Twitter page where a judge mentions that Outlander really gets going eight episodes in.  That’s not exactly a lie (it’s really five or six episodes in).  The first few episodes drag, and as I said before, the first episodes from this season felt like something my US History teacher from my junior year in high school would have us watch…only the stuff she had us watch was much more engaging.

Also, I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again.  Another thing I hated about this season is that Claire and Jamie have basically become supporting characters in their own doggone story.  Claire and Jamie are the ones that got me hooked on the show.  I’m here for them, not Roger and Brianna.  One of the good things about season three is that when Claire went back in time to reunite with Jamie, the show went back to being all about them.  No more Brianna, no more Roger.   As a result, the episodes were a lot more interesting and drama filled—good drama, not bratty tantrums.  This go around, the writers provided Brianna and Roger with the most interesting storylines, even when Claire and Jamie were the central focus.  I wish that focus and energy would be spent on the people we came to see in the first place instead.  I don’t want Roger and Brianna’s story to be dull, but don’t trade in Claire and Jamie’s appealing plot points so their bratty ass daughter and future son-in-law can get their moment in the sun.

I was watching Roger and Brianna’s reunion clip on You Tube, and someone commented that if this is the route the show is going to take, the producers are in a world of trouble, because not too many people like Roger and Brianna.  I have to agree with that assessment.  Personally, I don’t have too much of a problem with Roger—his extreme marriage proposal faux pas aside—but that doggone Brianna…I don’t wanna have to deal with her any more than I have to.  Just when she was starting to act like a doggone human being, she turned right around and reverted to the little monster we were introduced to in the season two finale.  As I said before, I enjoyed the show more when Claire and Jamie were at the forefront where they belonged, and Roger and Brianna’s appearances were scarce.  Let that demon child and her potential baby daddy be doggone supporting characters like Fergus and Marsali.  Hell, I’d like more of Fergus and Marsali than Roger and Brianna.  They make a better couple, in my opinion.

Last but not least, all the racism that the Frasers have to face this season left a bad taste in my mouth.  Yes, I understand that this was the cultural norm for the 1700’s, and yes, I understand that it makes sense for Claire and Jamie to endure new hardships with new adventures.  However, the constant racism against black people and Native Americans was infuriating, nonetheless.  Hell, if I wanna see racism, I don’t have to look any further than the news or log on to Twitter.  Shoot, sometimes all I have to do is walk into a store or go to an open house in a nice neighborhood.  I remember when my purebred collie was still alive; people would see me walking her around town—namely the well off neighborhoods—and automatically assume I was a maid.  Go figure.

Another thing that bugged me about this season was how blasé Brianna was when it came to slavery.  Claire was the second coming of Harriet Beecher Stowe when she arrived at River Run.  Brianna was more like Benedict Cumberbatch’s character from 12 Years a Slave; disagreeing with the practice of slavery to an extent and treating the slaves with respect, but completely apathetic to their plight.  The sad part is that Brianna had a black roommate in the ’70s.  Brianna probably can’t even face that child now, considering that she may have possibly took advantage of some of her ancestors.  What’s even sadder is when Jamie and Claire did their part to help a slave last season, folks on the internet had a fit, calling them “white saviors” and accusing Outlander of being tone deaf when it came to race issues.  On the flip side, when it comes to Brianna and her “it is what it is” attitude, I’ve heard nothing but radio silence.  SMDH.

All in all, this season was aiight.  There were some exciting episodes, but there wasn’t enough Claire and Jamie, and there was way too much Roger and Brianna.  I got tired of hearing Native American people referred to as “savages” (I get that was a popular term in colonial times, but I don’t have to like it), and I got tired of seeing black people enslaved and the characters in the show just being cool with it.  When Outlander gets going, it gets going, but I’m gonna need it to step up a little bit next year.  I don’t want to give up on this series.  We need more Claire and Jamie, y’all.  More Claire and Jamie and less Roger and Brianna.  And less racism.  Go back to Scotland, y’all.

—Written by Nadiya

So what did you think about the season finale?  What are your thoughts on this season as a whole?  Did it have too much racism?  Are you fine with how race relations are portrayed?  Did you miss seeing Claire and Jamie on a regular basis?  Do you believe that the show’s focus should shift towards Roger and Brianna?  If Roger and Brianna do become the show’s main focus, will you still enjoy the series?  What do you think about Ian becoming part of The Mohawk?  What do you think about Otter Tooth’s warnings to his people?  Do you like Jocasta and Murtagh as a couple?  Let me know in the comments section!

Hey, y’all!  I know y’all think I forgot about you, but I promise I didn’t.  The truth of the matter is that thanks to this crazy weather we’ve been having, my sinuses have been kicking my natural black ass, and between that and some other issues (you ladies know about those), I’ve been too tired and doped up on Benadryl and/or pain meds to give y’all the recaps and reviews I promised a few weeks ago.  Also, I had to take my mother to Charlotte, NC two weeks ago, so there’s that.  By the way, if you’re thinking about investing in an IPhone, you may want to reconsider that choice after viewing the picture below.

This is what you’ll have to deal with when your IPhone/IPad malfunctions, and trust me, it will malfunction.  Just sayin’.  At least the people working there were sweet.

Anyway, like I said, I already promised you guys that I’d write a review for the “Providence” episode of Outlander, and I’m not the type of person to back out of my promises.  However, in order to save some time and get to the nitty gritty (the finale), I’m just going to point my favorite and least favorite aspects of the episode.  Y’all ready to get this party started or what?

The Cool Stuff

Brianna Admits One of Her Many Bratty Ways

Brianna decides that forgiveness is the best way to get over what happened to her, and to do that, she plans on going to Wilmington to visit Bonnet in jail.  Lord John is against this, so to convince him, Brianna reads Jamie’s letter to her, explaining that vengeance is not the answer.  After she finishes, she remarks that when Jamie left, she never told him goodbye.  Well, duh!  I’m just glad this brat actually acknowledges some of her bad behavior.  I would say that maybe she’ll stop making the same mistakes when it comes to her loved ones and act like somebody towards her father, but like I said in the last review, I’m not expecting miracles from this chick.

Murtagh Gets Busted Out of Jail

After Murtagh gets busted along with ratchet ass Stephen Bonnet (which irks me…Murtagh is guilty of protesting ridiculous taxes, Bonnet is a murderer/rapist.  Where’s the doggone justice?), Fergus vows to help him escape the noose (that’s right, the dang noose), and Marsali—who’s ride or die—agrees to help him.  She even said that if Fergus hadn’t suggested it, she would have (can we trade Brianna for Marsali?).  They also agree that they should take Jamie up on his offer and move to Fraser’s Ridge.  Sometime later, Marsali parks the getaway wagon (which also doubles as a moving van) a few feet from the jailhouse, while Fergus meets with Murtagh’s men.  After they bum rush the guards, they grab Murtagh out of the jail and escape, but not before blowing the doggone place up.

Brianna Visits No Good Bonnet

As previously mentioned, after Brianna reads Jamie letter explaining that forgiveness is the best route to take for her to move on with her life, she decides to visit Bonnet before his execution.  Lord John takes Brianna to Wilmington a few days later to see him.  Of course, Bonnet acts like a complete asshole (he didn’t even recognize Brianna at first.  I guess he’s violated that many women in his lifetime) until Brianna tells him his alleged unborn child will never know anything about him.  For the first time in his evil life, Bonnet does something selfless and gives Brianna a ruby to help feed the baby.  By the way, all this goes down when—you guessed it—Murtagh’s being broken out of jail.  Murtagh notices Brianna there and has some pretty harsh words for Lord John.  Despite Lord John and Murtagh’s disdain for one another, when the authorities question Brianna and her “betrothed” about what they saw at the jail, Lord John says that he didn’t notice anything strange.  Love that guy.  Speaking of which…

Lord John Proves Once Again That He’s the Man

When Brianna arrives at Wilmington, she’s visibly nervous and tells Lord John that she misses her mother (not her dad, of course).  Lord John tells her that both Brianna’s parents are doing their best to bring Roger back and to return to her.  Brianna tells Lord John that he’s impossible not to like. Yes, we know.  I remember when everyone wigged out when they learned Lord John was being introduced to the cast and I wondered what all the fuss was about.  Now I know.

Wack Shit!

Jamie and Claire Make a Cameo on Their Own Damn Show

Good news is, we get to see Jamie and Claire in this episode.  The bad news is, we see them for less than two minutes, and they’re not even speaking (technically).  While Brianna is reading Jamie’s letter, we hear him giving the audience a voice over of the note’s contents, as we watch him, Claire and Ian trek across the wilderness, making their way to Roger.  Booooo!

Brianna Tells No Good Bonnet About the Baby

I hated that Brianna told that evil ass Bonnet that she was pregnant.  Now, I know what y’all are thinking, “Every man has the right to know about his child.”  First off, the baby may not be Bonnet’s (I’m hoping that’s the case), secondly, Bonnet is a horrible human being that has absolutely no morals or values.  Telling someone like him that he has a child in the world would probably only stroke his ego and cause him to do something horrendous…like kidnap the baby and raise it himself, which would help create another maladjusted human being.  Y’all are probably also thinking:  “Isn’t Bonnet about to be hanged, and wasn’t Bonnet still in the jailhouse when it exploded?  Either way, he’s dead!”  That brings me to my next point…

Bonnet’s Nefarious Ass Probably Escaped

When Fergus and the other men freed Murtagh from his cell, the keys fell out of the lock and dropped…right in front of Bonnet’s open cell (Lord…).  Murtagh’s people made sure to get an unconscious guard out of the building before the explosion went off…but only the guard.  They left Bonnet’s evil ass right there.  However, it appears that Bonnet was able to stretch his foot his out to reach the keys right before the jailhouse blew up.  Did he get out before the explosion or did he perish?  I guess we’ll find out next season.  That’s right, we didn’t get an update during the season finale.

Roger Considers Looking Out for #1 and Euthanizes a Poor Man

I didn’t forget about Roger, y’all!  During Roger’s time in the Mohawk camp, he’s made a slave that’s basically named “Dogface” (no BS) due to him failing the test of going through the Soul Train Line from Hell.  Dogface isn’t in the best shape thanks to being beat like a man that owed someone money, so the chief has him stay in a hut with another prisoner.  The other poor soul is a priest that fell in love with one of the Mohawk women named Johiehon, who’s one of the few nice people in the tribe, to be honest.  The priest tells Roger that when he came there to missionary to the Mohawk, they welcomed him with open arms, but after he broke his vows and refused to baptize the child he fathered with Johiehon as a result, he immediately ended up on their shit list.  Roger tells the priest to go ahead and baptize the baby, given that the Mohawk know very little when it comes to the rules regarding the Catholic Church.  The priest refuses, saying that even if they don’t know, he’d know, and he couldn’t live with taking his vows to God so lightly.  The Mohawk give the priest another chance to baptist the baby, but he still refuses.  This time, the tribesmen pull a Mr. Blonde and cut the man’s ear off.  On top of that, they sentence the priest to die by literally holding his feet to a fire.  Even though only his feet will be burned, he’ll die a slow and painful death either by shock or infection.

Roger deems the priest a moron and regales his sad tale of crossing an ocean (he left out the time travel part) to be with the woman he loves, just to get his ass beaten to a bloody pulp by her dad (yep, he pieced together that Jamie is Brianna’s dad!).  Roger goes on to tell him that he stumbled across a way to get back home, but he purposefully didn’t take it because of love, and that the priest needs to take on Roger’s newfound philosophy:  invest in self-preservation and bump everyone else.  Turn your back on love.  I have to be honest, it hurt to see Roger talk that way, but after all he’s been through, I can definitely understand why.  The priest and Roger try to dig their way out of the hut after the “look out for #1 speech,” but when daylight comes and they see they’ve only made a hole that’s hardly big enough for my 6 lb. cat to squeeze through, the priest decides to accept his fate.

The tribesmen drag the priest off and Roger escapes before the execution gets underway.  However, Roger’s “the hell with everyone else” mantra soon dies once he hears the priest’s screams of agony.  Roger rushes back to the camp and throws a barrel of alcohol on the fire, setting the priest completely ablaze and putting him out of his misery.  Sadly enough, Johiehon is so distraught over the loss of her man that she gives her baby boy a kiss goodbye and joins the priest in the fire.  😭😭

—Written by Nadiya

I know it’s been a while, but what were you favorite and least favorite things about “Providence”?  Let me know in the comments section!

No rant today.  Just my usual recap.  Let’s go!

This ep starts off with Roger in the shower.  For a quick second, I figured that he actually did say, “Fuck Brianna,” and decided to go back to a time period that was a tad less violent.  However, the hot Mohawk guy shows up in the mirror behind Roger, and we see that he basically just had a hallucination.

Over at massa’s plantation aka River Run, Brianna—who’s now beginning to show her bun in the oven—is sitting in one of the meeting rooms drawing dark and disturbing images.  Lizzie sees her drawings and believes she’s possessed, but Brianna assures her that’s not the case.  Lizzie starts to blame herself for everything that’s happened, and begs forgiveness.  Surprisingly, Brianna forgives her and tells her that what she did was just an honest mistake, which it was, although it caused a ton of trouble.  Lizzie goes to walk out the room, but turns back and asks if Brianna will ever forgive Jamie.  Of course, Brianna can’t forgive Jamie because of what he said, despite the fact that he apologized the second he said it.  *Sigh*  So Lizzie can be forgiven, but not your father?

In our favorite place, Nowhere, USA, Jamie is searching for Roger with Claire and Ian.  To say that there’s tension between the Frasers is an understatement.  They’re barely talking, unless it’s to discuss the situation with Roger.  Jamie asks Claire if she knows anything about the Mohawk.  Claire says that she only knows what she’s seen in movies, and with films, it’s hard to tell fact from fiction (the constant debate regarding Bohemian Rhapsody is proof of that).   Jamie remarks that if you don’t have both sides of the story, it is hard to tell what’s made up and what’s real.  Claire catches the subtle shade.  Jamie goes on to say if anyone made a movie about him, he’d probably be portrayed as a vicious brute.  Claire says that’s one side of the story.  *Sigh*

Ian tries to get the Cherokee to lead them to the Mohawk tribe, but they refuse, as they have no business up there with them.  Since Ian knows a little bit of the Mohawk language and the man he sold Roger to speaks English, they decide to go on without a guide.  When the family stops to make camp, Ian asks Claire to try to patch things up with Jamie.  Claire claims she’s not mad at Jamie, but she’s worried about Brianna and she’s upset about the situation.  Ian tells Claire that he hates to see the both of them suffering so much.

In Wilmington, Fergus is looking for Bonnet and a job, and having no luck in either case.  When he gets back home, Murtagh is there, speaking with another regulator.  Marsali isn’t very comfortable with Murtagh being there—to say the least—and she’s especially not comfortable with the tasks he’s assigned Fergus with.  Fergus reminds Marsali that Murtagh would do the same for him if he had the chance.   As for being refused work every five minutes, it’s starting to make Fergus feel like half a man.  He remarks that Jamie doesn’t treat him as if he’s disabled, but the folks in town act like he’s a useless cripple since he only has one hand.  Later that night, Marsali wakes Murtagh up (and the way she wakes him up is doggone hilarious), and asks him to please allow Fergus to join the Regulators.  Even though what they’re doing is dangerous, and Fergus could possibly be killed, Marsali wants Fergus to feel like a man again.  She either wants a full man, or none at all.

At River Run, Jocasta’s planned a dinner in a few days and she makes arrangements to have Phaedra (the house slave) fit Brianna for a new dress, since she’s the guest of honor.  However, Brianna turns down Phaedra’s assistance.  It’s not because Phaedra is working for free against her will (much like the federal workers before the shutdown finally ended), but it’s due to the fact that Brianna isn’t in the mood for partying.  Brianna opts to draw a picture of Phaedra instead, given that’s she a beautiful girl.  Anyway, Jocasta later speaks with Brianna and tells her that being around other people will be good for her.  Besides, she already had Phaedra alter one of her old dresses, since Brianna refused to have a new one made.  Brianna says that she’s happier being by herself drawing.  Jocasta regales her with a story about how her sister (Jamie’s mother and Brianna’s grandmother) married way past her “prime,” but when she did, she married for love.  The story makes Brianna feel a bit better, and she agrees that being around other people may make things easier.  With that, Jocasta tells her to get her pregnant ass upstairs and try her dress on.

The night of the party comes, and Ms. Brianna looks stunning in her retro fitted dress.  All the fellas think so too, because the minute Brianna comes downstairs, they’re all staring at her with drool leaking from their open mouths.  I wish I had a bucket of water for their thirsty asses.

It’s not lost on Brianna that the majority of the guests at that party are men—single men.  The few women that are there are either the men’s mothers or sisters.  What really irked me though, is when the guests inquire Brianna about her hobbies and interests, she mentions that she likes to draw and that she finished a picture of Phaedra just the other day.  Of course, Ms. Forbes, one of the guests, assumes that she drew a picture of Phaedra from Greek mythology.  That damn Jocasta even went along with that lie.  Another guest, Judge Alderdyce, correctly guesses that she’s talking about Phaedra the house slave.  The first thing out Judge Alderdyce’s mother’s mouth was, “Why ever would you want to draw a picture of that?”  That?  That!?  THAT!?

Brianna actually looked appalled and the thirsty men continued to be thirsty.  However, their thirst turned to disappointment when the last guest arrived…Lord John Grey.

Back at Fergus’s place, Murtagh asks him to join The Regulators.  Although Fergus is more than happy that Murtagh even considered him to fight by his side, Fergus rejects the offer, telling him that his place is with Marsali and Germain.  Marsali is in the next room listening in, and when she hears Fergus’s answer, she’s delighted.  Yes, she wanted Murtagh to allow Fergus to be a Regulator, but hearing Fergus say that he’s more of a man being near his wife and child gives her reassurance that he is still a whole man, and that he’s happy with his family regardless.  She tries to hold in her joy when she enters the room they’re in and announces that the ship they were looking for just arrived at port.  Bonnet’s ship.  Before Fergus and Murtagh leave, Marsali stops the latter to say thank you.  Someone on social media mentioned that Marsali is so much more mature than her mother.  I wholeheartedly agree.

Back at River Run, the thirst continues to be real.  Brianna suggests they all play a  psychological game she learned a while back, and of course, the men jump at the chance.  She tells them all to close their eyes and imagine they’re in a secluded forest with one other person and an animal, and she’ll tell them what the person and animal represent.  After they’ve all done the exercise, Brianna asks Judge Alderdyce what he saw.  The judge says he was walking with Christ and saw a squirrel that continually pops up in his mother’s garden.  Brianna deduces that the judge feels the need to confess something and he’s keeping a secret from his mother.  The judge’s mother is quick to say that she and her son have no secrets.  Right.  Let me tell y’all something…my mom is my best friend, but she doesn’t know every little detail about me.  Let’s just be real.

Judge Alderdyce excuses himself for a moment, and Brianna asks Lord John what he saw.  Lord John says that he saw Jamie.

Brianna wonders aloud why Jamie is the person Lord John imagined he’d be with, and he tells her that Jamie personally asked him to check on her.  When Brianna asks why, John answers that Jamie only told him that Brianna would soon be embarking on a long journey.  Brianna inquires if Jamie gave any other details, and Lord John tries to put her mind at ease by telling her Jamie would not divulge any personal info of hers unless she wanted him to.  John adds that Jamie is an honorable man, and Brianna quickly retorts, “Don’t talk to me about my father’s honor!”  Brianna is such a damn brat.  If these men knew I what I know, they’d run.

Brianna tries to excuse herself for a moment, but faints.  Lord John sees to her and helps her to another room.  Lizzie comes in genuinely concerned, but unfortunately spills the beans about Brianna’s pregnancy.  Naturally, Lord John doesn’t pass any judgement, and Brianna tells the tale of how she and Roger were handfast, hooked up, and how he was sold to the Mohawk.  John then gives Brianna a letter Jamie wanted her to read.  Of course, Brianna doesn’t read it.   Jocasta comes in to see about Brianna, and once they have some time alone, she asks if the party was a setup.  Jocasta admits it was (shocking!), and she tells Brianna that she has to get married soon, now that she has a baby on the way.  Brianna insists that she get married for love like her grandmother did, but Jocasta tells her that if doesn’t make a move soon, the baby will be born a fatherless bastard.  It’s one thing to be born out of wedlock in 2019, or even 1981 (me!) or 1971, but in 1769?  That’s a no-no.

At a tavern in Wilmington, Fergus, Murtagh and a few more of the Regulators spy on Bonnet’s ship mates.  After a few moments, guess who comes boppin’ up?  Stephen Doggone Bonnet himself, getting victim #2 ready.  Bonnet heads upstairs at to undo his fly and get ready for the deed, but before he can, Murtagh appears with his gun drawn.  Bonnet swears up and down Murtagh has the wrong room, and my boy gives him the perfect response, “Yes.  I’m looking for a gentleman.  You’re no gentleman.”  Then he knocks the hell out of Bonnet’s evil ass.  I love it.

Murtagh and Fergus are about to load Bonnet’s nasty ass in the wagon to take him away, but the authorities notice them.  Murtagh tells Fergus to get back to his family and punches him in the stomach to make it look like he was assaulting him.  When the cops arrive, they recognize Murtagh from his wanted posters.  Murtagh makes sure they realize he has Stephen Bonnet, a wanted murderer.  The cops take both of them away.  Dammit.

Later that night, at River Run, Brianna is up wondering if she should read Jamie’s letter or not, and true to form, she decides not to.  She gets up to get something to eat and/or drink and hears the sound of panting coming from another room.  She walks into the direction the noise is coming from, and guess what she sees!  It’s Lord John and Judge Alderdyce gettin’ their freak on!!

I figured that when Brianna mentioned that Judge Alderdyce had a secret his mother didn’t know, him being gay was the hidden truth.  Once Brianna notices the two men having some private time, she runs back to her room.  The next morning, Phaedra happily wakes Brianna up to let her know that Mr. Forbes (one of the suitors) has staked his claim to Brianna and he’s already asked Jocasta for her blessing.  Naturally, Jocasta has no problem with it.  Brianna tells Phaedra to let Jocasta know that she went out for her morning walk and will be back.  She also tells Lizzie to have Lord John meet her outside.  Once she and Lord John are on the grounds alone together, she asks Lord John to marry her.

Lord John refuses, and Brianna—whose audacity knows no bounds—-threatens to tell other people about what she saw the night before.  She even throws Jamie’s name in the mix, threatening to tell him what she knows and Lord John easily calls her bluff, telling her that Jamie and Claire are already well aware of his alternative lifestyle.  After more threats and harsh words (one of which sounded like a veiled threat of marital rape if Brianna did force Lord John’s hand), Brianna and Lord John calm down and begin to speak to each other like civilized adults with some home training.  Brianna admits that she really wouldn’t have said anything, and in turn, Lord John admits that although he sees Jamie when he closes his eyes, he sees Claire as well, and the love they have for each other.  With tears in her eyes, Brianna confesses that she was raped and isn’t 100% sure who the father of her child is.  If and when Roger comes back, he may not want to be with her anymore.  Brianna doesn’t want to marry Mr. Forbes, but she will for the sake of her baby, since it looks like she no longer has a choice in the matter.

Brianna comes back to the house, and is all ready to give Mr. Forbes an answer.  However, Lord John enters and announces that he and Brianna are engaged.  Mr. Forbes leaves the house, clearly disappointed, but Jocasta is overjoyed.  It may not be the man she wanted for her grandniece, but it’s a man nonetheless.  Later, Brianna and Lord John are talking while on the porch.  Brianna admits that in this world, she’s said and done things she never thought she would or could.  Lord John tells her that sometimes people do bad things for a good reason, and that Jamie may know something about that.  Slipping back into brat mode, Brianna doesn’t wanna hear that, and says that she’s not sure what’s worse:  dwelling on the past or facing the future.  Lord John then tells Brianna about William, and how much he loves him, even though he’s not biologically his.  Oooh, I bet this child’ll have a shit fit when she finds out who William’s father really is.  Anyway, Lord John assures Brianna that Roger will love the baby no matter what.  It’s only then that Brianna finally does the mature thing and reads Jamie’s letter.

Back in the Neverending Forest, Rollo approaches Ian with a big ass bone.  Ian is eventually able to pry the bone from Rollo’s mouth, and when Claire examines it, she states the obvious…it’s human.  Hell, I honestly believe it was a femur, also known as a thigh bone, for those of y’all that cut anatomy class.  Rollo leads them to the body where the bone was found and Ian recognizes him as the man that was already captured by the Mohawk when he sold Roger to them.  They go off in different directions and search for Roger’s body, but they don’t find anything.  They end up giving the man a proper burial, and when Ian states that he feels so bad for him, Jamie says, “Well, one thing…he was someone’s son.”

Claire—like her bratty daughter—finally has the power to forgive Jamie.  She enters his tent later and apologizes for not telling him the truth about Brianna’s attacker.  She goes on to say that after Frank died, Brianna and Claire kept secrets just to themselves, which is why she didn’t tell Jamie what was going on.  Jamie tells Claire that Brianna doesn’t need him, and that he can’t be a father to her.  After all, Brianna said that Frank would never say the things Jamie said to her.  Jamie goes on to say that he’s jealous of Frank because Brianna thinks he’s a better man.  He even says that he was starting to think that Claire saw Frank as a better man, too.  Claire comforts him by telling him that Brianna says things out of anger just like he does, and that Frank was far from perfect.  They embrace and y’all can guess what happened next.  This scene made me cry.  I hate seeing Jamie so miserable.

Somewhere in upstate New York (let’s say Syracuse!), Roger finally arrives at The Mohawk encampment.  The second he arrives, the men untie him and form a Soul Train line where they actually take turns beating him.  Seriously.  Even I can’t make this shit up.  And that’s the end.

This episode was enjoyable, but I can’t help but notice that Jamie and Claire are being pushed further and further into the background whereas Brianna and Roger are being brought into the forefront.  For the last few weeks—including the following episode, which I will review soon—we’ve seen Brianna and Roger have the most screen time as well as the most interesting storylines.  Outlander is supposed to be Claire and Jamie’s story.  I miss the plot centering around them.  This season, they’ve become supporting characters in their own doggone show!  As for Ms. Brianna, she showed a bit of improvement, but she’s still not on my good side as of yet.  That won’t happen until she actually faces her father, and tells him, “I forgive you, and I’m sorry for the hurtful things I said.”  I would add that she needs to call him “Da,” as he asked, but at this point, we can’t expect miracles.  Even if she does that, I still have to give her the side eye for being so complacent with having slaves wait on her hand and foot.  I’ll give her a point for being offended when Jude Alderdyce’s clueless mama referred to Phaedra as “that,” but that’s all I can give her credit for.  Hell, Brianna’s even gotten comfortable with ordering Lizzie around at this point.  As for Roger, I really feel bad for the poor man.  This trip back in time has been pure hell on him!  The 18th century truly blows!

Despite my feelings regarding Roger and Brianna being the main focus of the series as of late, I did like this episode.  The party had me in stitches, considering that Jocasta brought together some of the most least desirable men in North Carolina to ask for Brianna’s hand in marriage.  What really had me rollin’ was that the oldest, least attractive one was the thirstiest of them all (Lieutenant Wolf, in case you’re wondering).  Ain’t nobody comin’ to see you, Otis!

It was good to see Lord John again, and aside from that uncharacteristic threat he gave Brianna, he further proved why he’s such a beloved addition to the Outlander arc.  Ironically enough, he was the only handsome “suitor” invited to the party (even the writers touched on this), but we all know he wasn’t interested for a multitude of reasons.  I’m glad that Claire and Jamie made up.  It’s just a shame that they had all of 15 minutes of screen time.  Sadly enough, they got even less screen time in the next ep.  More on that later.

I apologize for being late posting these again.  All last week and most of this week, I was under the weather, so I didn’t write as much as I wanted.  I’m going to crank out this next episode recap/review as quickly as I can, as well as the season finale.   That’s right, we’ll soon face the season known as “Droughtlander.”  If that means a break from Brianna though, I’m all for it.

—Written by Nadiya

So what did y’all think about “If Not For Hope”?  Do you think Brianna is still being a brat?  Did you ever feel like she was being bratty?  Did you think she was okay with having the slaves wait on her at Jocasta’s house?  Do you feel bad for Roger’s plight?  Do you think he’ll still accept the baby if it isn’t is?  What do you think about Jamie and Claire no longer being the central characters this season?  Do you miss seeing them, or are you okay with Brianna and Roger taking the spotlight?  Let me know in the comments section!